[OldDeckHand]

I'm glad that Hawking speaks about Einstein's theory of time dilation. When people mock theoretical science, I often point back to Einstein and this very theory, that he established almost 80 years before it was actually proven by experimentation.

The concept that time moves at varying speeds was almost heretical back in Einstein's day. But, there it is, proven completely accurate. Just because science is unable to prove a particular theory accurate do to technological limitation, doesn't necessarily mean the theory is flawed, even though it may contradict well-accepted scientific and philosophical principles.

[AmishDude]

When people mock theoretical science, I often point back to Einstein and this very theory, that he established almost 80 years before it was actually proven by experimentation.

Experimental science: monkeys at typewriters.

[STD]

I’m watching Hawking’s TV show now on Tivo. The Story of Everything is on Discovery. I’ll give you a review when it’s done.

[MarkL]

The concept that time moves at varying speeds was almost heretical back in Einstein's day. But, there it is, proven completely accurate. Just because science is unable to prove a particular theory accurate do to technological limitation, doesn't necessarily mean the theory is flawed, even though it may contradict well-accepted scientific and philosophical principles.

Exactly! And it even hits us with "real world" issues. For instance, when GPS was first implemented, there were problems with the coordinates shifting dramatically, all the time. It turned out that the clocks on the GPS satellites and on the earth actually run at slightly different speeds, due to the difference in gravitational force on the earth's surface, vs in orbit at about 12,500 miles.

Mark